Innovator’s Mindset Blog Hop!

Welcome to the second Blog Hop hosted by our Innovator’s Mindset Book Club! What is a blog hop? A blog hop is a way to discover and follow blogs, as well as promote your own! For our purposes we are discussing George Couros’s book, Innovator’s Mindset. Every other week we pose a topic or question, and other bloggers (like you!) discuss it/ write about it, and then we link our posts together. Posts written about Innovator’s Mindset are linked on the OSSEMOOC site (Ontario School and System Leaders MOOC). By linking your post to others’ posts on the same topic, you have a quick and efficient way to further your learning on a specific topic, as well as connect and network with others who have similar interests and learning needs.

So our question this week is, If you were to start a school from scratch, what would it look like? Even if you haven’t read George’s book, I believe we all have ideas about what school could, or should be . . .

If I were designing a school from scratch, I would begin by asking kids what they envision. So I did . . .

Here is what learners in grades 7-8 had to say . . .

teachers would spend more time listening to student needs

teachers would spend more time building relationships with students

more time for students to talk – time to share thinking, feelings, experiences, social needs

more breaks throughout the day as I need them – not when the bell rings

more music and art classes – more time for personal expression

we want class pets – animals are important to teach skills like responsibility, respect, empathy, and to spark curiousity about caring for living things

more projects that spark curiosity and creativity

we don’t want to write essays – we want to create things

there is too much information we have to write down – if we could create projects we would learn so much more

when we work on projects we learn how to collaborate, connect with other people, how to research

we want experiences that are more current – we don’t want to write essays!

iPads instead of textbooks

more opportunities for learning with technology

we still like reading books in print as opposed to reading on the iPad

equity – fair is not the same

share our work with a real audience

bully-free environment

Here is what learners in grades 4-6 had to say . . .

tables instead of desks, more space to store things that aren’t in our desks

big classroom with more space to move around, huge windows, big comfy chairs to sit in

classroom would be bright and cheerful with technology built into the room – computer screens on tables and walls

more time spent learning outside

more breaks throughout the day if I need them

technology for everyone – some people have trouble with writing, if they had iPads they could share their learning by making videos, or telling stories instead

we don’t really print anymore – when we fill out forms they are online

make learning more fun

share our learning with other people

learn about other people in different places and maybe meet them

more time learning outside

activities that involve physical activity throughout the day, learning through play

more teamwork – more time to teach each other

Why do teachers only do the teaching?

every class would be people who wanted to learn the same things instead of having grades – so if I want to learn how to build something, I would be in school with other people who wanted to learn how to build; it wouldn’t matter what grade we were in

lots of visual learning, art, music, dance

teachers wouldn’t give out worksheets

no tests – instead we get to make things

we should design apps to use for our learning

playing games to learn – design a game to show you learned

sharing work digitally – less paper

teachers would be happy and cheerful, energetic, kind, fun, happy, and would want to get to know me

mystery days – kids and teachers do something really different

try new things everyday – instead of doing the same things everyday

more time to create things

different classes – choose the classes you want

choose to learn French or Spanish or a different language at any grade

frozen yogurt Fridays

more time for playing

longer periods – there are too many bells

time throughout the whole school for us to work with each other

if you do well you get special privileges – choosing what you want to learn, or an extra topping on your frozen yogurt!

Thank you for sharing your insight. The classroom space does belong to the learners, but so often we display what we think they need or what we feel is important. Finding a balance is an excellent starting point. I believe we need to continue working towards a shift in focus that empowers our learners so they are the ones determining what they need and how we can support those needs. We need to make time for, and honour student voice.

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